1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fastening member for fastening exterior panels to a building frame and an exterior panel fastening structure using the fastening member.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following description sets forth the inventor's knowledge of related art and problems therein and should not be construed as an admission of knowledge in the prior art.
In constructing exterior panels of a building, exterior panels 40 each having at least shiplap portions 44 and 42 at upper and lower edges thereof as shown in FIG. 6 are fastened to a building frame side using fastening members (see Japanese Unexamined Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2001-27031 (hereinafter “Patent Document 1”)). FIG. 7 shows a fastening member disclosed in Patent Document 1. This fastening member 50 is formed by bending a single steel plate, and includes supporting portions 51a and 51b for supporting rear surfaces of exterior panels at the time of fastening the panels, an engaging portion 52 formed by bending the central portion of the supporting portion 51, a base plate portion 53 extending from the upper edge of the upper supporting portion 51a, and a bend portion 54 extending from the lower edge of the lower supporting portion 51b. At the time of fastening the fastening member 50 to a building frame side, the base plate portion 53 and the tip end of the bend portion 54 function as fastening portions.
At the time of the construction, an upper exterior panel is fastened in a state in which the shiplap portion 42 formed at the lower edge of the panel is engaged with the engaging portion 52 with the rear surface in contact with the supporting portion 51a. In the same manner, a lower exterior panel is fastened in a state in which the shiplap portion 44 formed at the upper edge of the panel is engaged with the engaging portion 52 with the rear surface in contact with the supporting portion 51b. This fastening member 50 has a concave portion 61, formed at supporting portion 51a, reaching the building frame side to stabilize the fastened state of the fastening member 50 to a building frame side. In the fastened state, a space corresponding to the level difference between the surface of the base plate portion 53 and that of the supporting portion 51 is formed between the rear surface of the exterior panel and the building frame, thereby securing ventilation.
Japanese Unexamined Laid-open Patent Publication No. H09-302889 (hereinafter, “Patent Document 2”) discloses a fastening member 70 which is also formed by bending a single steel plate as shown in FIG. 8. This fastening member 70 is provided with a base plate portion 71, supporting portions 72 and 72 forwardly protruded from right and left side end portions of the base plate portion 71 and extending in the up-and-down direction, and an engaging portion 73 formed between the right and left supporting portions 72 and 72 so as to extend in the right and left direction with a tip end positioned forward with respect to the supporting portions 72 and 72. This engaging portion 73 is formed by bending the lower region of the base plate 71, and is provided with upwardly extended portions 75 and 75 formed by upwardly bending a tip end of both side portions and a downwardly extended portion 76 formed by downwardly bending a central portion of the tip end. The upper exterior panel is fastened in the state in which the lower end shiplap portion 42 is engaged with the engaging portion 73 and the rear surface of the panel is in contact with the supporting portions 72 and 72. In the same manner, the lower exterior panel is fastened in the state in which the upper end shiplap portion 44 is engaged with the engaging portion 73 and the rear surface of the panel is in contact with the supporting portions 72 and 72. In the fastened state, ventilation is secured since a space corresponding to the height of the supporting portion 72 and 72 is formed between the rear surface of the exterior panel and the building frame.
The fastening member 50 shown in FIG. 7 was relatively heavy and required a large amount of steel due to the engaging portion 52 formed by folding a steel plate in a laminated matter, resulting in high costs.
On the other hand, in the fastening member 70 shown in FIG. 8, the engaging portion 73 is a single plate structure, resulting in light weight and low costs. However, since the engaging portion 73 is extended from the base plate portion 71 as a fastening portion to a building frame side, as compared with the structure in which the engaging portion 52 is protruded from the supporting portion 51 as shown in FIG. 7, the strength of the engaging portion 73 was not sufficient especially in the case of fastening large and heavy exterior panels.
Furthermore, in the fastening member 70, since it is configured to support the rear surface of an exterior panel only by the right and left supporting portions 72 and 72, especially in cases where two adjacently arranged exterior panels are fastened with only one fastening member 70, the rear surface of each exterior panel is supported by one of the right and left supporting portions 72, resulting in deterioration of the fastening stability.
The description herein of advantages and disadvantages of various features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed in other publications is in no way intended to limit the present invention. For example, certain features of the preferred embodiments of the invention may be capable of overcoming certain disadvantages and/or providing certain advantages, such as, e.g., disadvantages and/or advantages discussed herein, while retaining some or all of the features, embodiments, methods, and apparatus disclosed therein.